Bike powered smoothies and therapy dogs at Streets Alive!

BY EMILY NITCHER / LINCOLN JOURNAL
STAR
Blending a fruit smoothie with a bike isn't difficult; it just takes a lot of pedaling.

Really fast, ferocious pedaling.

Mike Trout and other volunteers at the Great Plains Trails Network tent pedaled all Sunday afternoon to make enough smoothies for the curious onlookers at Streets Alive!.

GPTN volunteers were among 100 vendors and performers that set up booths along a two-mile route around the Capitol and through the Near South and Everett neighborhoods.

Several streets in the area were closed off, allowing participants to walk their dogs and ride their bikes.

It was the third year for Streets Alive!, a healthy living festival put on by the Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln. The vendors offered treats, activities and information about ways to get and stay healthy.

Danielle Herbert, communication coordinator for Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln, said the goal is to get people out and active so they can learn about other health organizations in the community.

The Great Plains Trail Network supports walking, jogging and biking trails in Lancaster County. They design trail maps, updating them every year and handing them out for free.

The smoothies were Wes Trout's invention. The Waverly resident said he wanted to prove you can do just about anything with a bike, including making a snack.

Others took a more leisurely approach to Streets Alive!. Bear, a 5-year-old Bernese mountain dog, lounged in the shade provided by one of the tents and waited for people to pet him.

A matching black, white and brown Bernese named Colby, and a few other dogs, drew a crowd at the Domesti-PUPs tent.

Bear would get up to greet approaching children, then plopped back in the grass once they were done giving him a scratch on the head.

Bear, a therapy dog, travels to schools and nursing homes to provide comfort. His owner, Mary Mattox, said older people can be intimated by Bear's size, but children like to use him as a giant bean bag chair.

Sunday's event also included sing-a-longs, balloon artists and dancers.

Amy Phipps brought her 7-year-old daughter, Maura Mahoney, to the event for the second year in a row.